Thursday, September 10, 2009

Prelude to the Dream Results

Stewart Wins Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway:Tony Stewart won the fifth annual Gillette Young Guns Prelude to the Dream all-star dirt late model race Wednesday night at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, marking the third time in four years Stewart has won the event. Stewart passed Kenny Wallace on lap 13 of the 30-lap event and led the final 18 laps en route to victory. “This was probably the best I’ve run in the Prelude,” said Stewart, who bought Eldora in 2004. “We won last year, I think we led the whole thing, but this was one I had to work for. We weren’t exactly perfect, and we weren’t perfect because I hit the wall on the first two starts right off the bat.”

Clint Bowyer finished 3.358 seconds behind Stewart in the runner-up spot, while Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five. Drag Racing standout Cruz Pedregon, David Reutimann, Aric Almirola, Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson comprised the top-10. There were four caution periods during the event, although the laps conducted under caution did not count.

The race, which drew more than 23,000 fans, was broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View with proceeds from the nationwide telecast supporting four military-themed charities – Wounded Warrior Project, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Homefront and Fisher House. Each has a mission that outlines assistance to the courageous men and women who serve their country and need additional support both during and after their time of service.

“The Wounded Warriors Project, Fisher House, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and Operation Homefront, that’s who this money’s going to tonight,” Stewart said. “Thank you to the fans – you guys helped us do this and you’re the reason we were able to do this tonight. I just really appreciate the support that our fans give us here. We also can’t thank the drivers enough. With the rainout in June, it really means a lot that they were able to rearrange their schedules and come out and help us do this tonight. We’re proud to do this. Thanks to Gillette and HBO, we’ve been able to do more than we ever thought here at the Prelude. The fans keep making it bigger and better every year. As long as the fans keep coming and I can keep getting drivers to come out, we’re going to keep doing this every year.”

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I'm not affiliated with AJ or the Allmendinger family in any way. Nor am I employed by or affiliated with JTG Daugherty Racing. I am just a very devoted fan who enjoys sharing information about my favorite driver.